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Leaner must be the new norm |
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November 22, 2011 |
How can a largely rural western state of roughly
1.5 million people – a state whose Republican
credentials are matched only by its almost
contrarian sense of independence – possibly set
an example of responsible governance for the
rest of America?
In Idaho, we did it by reassessing the proper
role of government in people’s lives. We did it
by identifying what our Constitution and laws
require government to do and eliminating much of
what they don’t. We did it by instituting
zero-base budgeting and bringing business
principles to government. We did it by making
tough choices and difficult adjustments early in
the economic downturn. And we did it by being
cautious, prudent, and yes, conservative with
taxpayer dollars in order to live within the
people’s means.
The result was meeting the Idaho Constitution’s
requirement for a balanced budget each year, a
nearly 20-percent reduction in the size of
Idaho’s general fund budget, and a leaner, more
efficient and effective State government with an
improved bond rating and a strong pension system
for State employees.
We didn’t raise taxes. We didn’t spend down our
reserve accounts at the first sign of trouble.
We didn’t spend one-time federal stimulus money
on continuing fiscal obligations. We avoided
one-size-fits-all solutions and instead built
more and stronger partnerships with the private
sector to address such challenges as making
affordable, accessible health care available to
more Idahoans and – most importantly of all –
improving on an already business-friendly
economic environment to bring more career
opportunities to our citizens.
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always popular. We
took plenty of heat along the way from those for
whom growing government – and the sense of
entitlement it inevitably fosters – had become a
way of life during the years of economic
expansion. We listened to taxpayers, we worked
to be more inclusive while overcoming hind-bound
resistance to change, and we instituted sweeping
reforms of our public schools to prepare our
state and our students for an increasingly
competitive global marketplace.
The people of Idaho honored me with a second
term in 2010 on a theme of “limited government;
unlimited opportunity.” My commitment now is to
ensure the changes we made during the Great
Recession become a permanent part of how
Idahoans view government’s role in their lives.
It no longer can be all things to all people and
or even their primary social safety net, but it
can and should be part of a continuum of private
and public assistance that begins at home and
extends to families, social organizations and
communities.
My goal is for Idahoans to see their State
government as more of a partner than a provider,
more of a facilitator than a regulator, and more
focused on educating and empowering citizens to
find local solutions than on imposing its own
from afar.
We all remain hamstrung by gridlock and
uncertainty in federal policies and the
frailties of the global economy. That makes it
all the more important that we put our own
houses in order, be aggressive in addressing the
issues we can handle on our own, and work to
help people understand that this is not a matter
of crisis management; it’s our new normal.
The sooner the federal government recognizes
what we in Idaho know – that people are tired of
rearranging deck chairs in Washington, D.C.,
tired of government that over-promises and
under-delivers, and ready for fundamental
changes in their relationship with government –
the better off we all will be. |
Idaho Governor
Butch Otter |
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